Tottori Sand Museum 砂の美術館
Tottori Sand Museum
After the dunes, see the sand sculptures
Discover gigantic ephemeral sculptures of sand, gathered in a vast room at the Tottori Sand Museum. In tribute to the dunes of the same name, this museum allows Japanese artists to express their art with an unusual material...
A unique museum near the dunes
Near the Sea of Japan, north of Okayama, the Tottori sand dunes constitute one of the more unusual and unique landscapes of Japan. Many visitors go there to get lost for an afternoon. Not far from these impressive dunes lies the Tottori Sand Museum.
This unique museum first opened its doors in November 2006 in an 'open air' location, where the works made of sand and water were only protected from the weather by temporary structures. It was under the supervision of the Japanese sculptor Chaen Katsuhiko that the project was first put in place. Even today, he is responsible for the team of artists in charge of creating the works. In 2012, the museum, now a success, gained a new look and has since kept its huge sand sculptures indoors.
The purpose of the museum is to take visitors on a journey around the world. Thus, every year, the museum's temporary exhibition honors a particular country or part of the world. Many have been featured, such as Russia, the United States, South America, England, Africa, Italy, and more.
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Tottori Sand Museum Exhibitions
All the works are created using caramel colored Tottori sand, water, and simple tools such as trowels. The sculptures immediately impress visitors with their impressive size, but also with their high level of detail. The works are sculpted with extraordinary meticulousness, and a sense of realism.
Detailed architecture such as the Palace of Westminster, the Aztec pyramids, the skyscrapers of Manhattan have been featured... but also human representations carved with precision allow visitors to immerse themselves in this journey.
Sculpture at Tottori Sand Museum (Theme: Russia)
Sculpture at Tottori Sand Museum (Theme: Russia)
For each exhibition, the museum offers an interesting point of view by looking at a whole lot of themes concerning the country or the continent, following a chronological order.
For example, the US-themed 2017 exhibition aimed to represent the country's best-known facets, events and sites: the Native American people, the Far West, industrialization, space exploration, Mount Rushmore, the Declaration of Independence, Hollywood movies, jazz, American sports... and many more.
Sculpture at Tottori Sand Museum (Theme: Russia)
The exhibition hall is organized along a set path to follow, so you can discover each creation one by one. A raised walkway around the edge of the hall allows visitors to take advantage of a panoramic view of all the works.
Until January 2020, the theme is "South Asia". Beware, the museum is not open all year: it closes every year between January 1 and mid-April, to allow artists to demolish the previous exhibition and then shape the new sculptures following the new theme selected. Every year, one-third of the team of artists changes, and each artist is named responsible for a sculpture.
